Boris Johnson has suggested London could appeal fines from the European Commission for exceeding nitrogen oxide limits following the VW emissions scandal.

Speaking during the Mayor's Question Time on Monday, Mr Johnson hit back over the £300million fines placed on the UK, blaming the defectiveness of the commissions testing standards for allowing diesel cars on the roads that emit far more pollution than stated.

In April, the government was told it had to submit new air quality plans by the end of the year after 40 of 43 UK zones were found to be breaching 2010 limits for air pollution.

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Smog capital: Central London is one of 40 UK zones out of total 43 to be missing air pollution standards set for 2010

The government projected the UK could reach the standards for air pollution by 2030, placing much of the blame on the high levels of nitrogen oxides (NOx) produced by diesel cars.

Areas struggling to hit the targets include the West Midlands, West Yorkshire and Greater London, which has launched the Congestion Zone, Low Emissions Zone and an upcoming Ultra Low Emissions Zone in an attempt to tackle the problem in the capital.

But after Volkswagen announced it was to recall 1.2million cars in the UK fitted with emissions-test defeat devices, Johnson said the European Commissions testing standards for diesel cars were responsible for the high level of NOx emissions in London.

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'We’ve been diddled about euro 4 and 5 [testing standards]. They were meant to provide the reductions in NOx which they just didn’t,' the Mayor told the panel.

'It is because of the failure of the EU’s euro 4 and euro 5 standards that we are in the position that we are in these exceedances, and then they have the audacity to propose a fine on use because of the defectiveness of their standards.'

Volkswagen has had to begin proceedings to recall an estimated 11million vehicles worldwide sold between 2009 and 2015 after the Environmental Protection Agency discovered some were emitting up to 40 times the legal US limit on the road, thanks to software that would reduce NOx outputs during the official test procedure.

The audacity: The London Mayor slams the European Commission for implementing £300m fines on the UK because their car-testing standards have failed to produce real-world emissions

When asked about imposing a fine on Volkswagen, Mr Johnson said: 'I don’t know whether Volkswagen will have much left at the end of this to pay.

'Quite how legally or morally I could enforce a fine on Volkswagen I do not know, but it is certainly worth exploring.

'It might be better to try and shame or guilt them out in some way to pay for measures to improve clean air in London, such as a VW cycle hire scheme to get people out of VWs.'

Mr Johnson stood by his decision to implement a Ultra Low Emissions Zone in London in 2020, despite the qualifying requirements being based on emissions levels set by the European Commission's Euro 6 testing standards.

'Be in no doubt, I have interrogated our people long and hard about euro 6 diesel standards,' he added.

'The assurances I have is that they do - even in real world driving conditions - supply this level of improvement in air quality.

'What we’ve decided to do with the ULEZ is to say we’re not going to look at what the test track figures say – we’re going to look at the real world driving emissions and bake those into our calculations about what ULEZ will achieve.

'And with those in mind, ULEZ will achieve massive reductions in emissions.

'Our calculations, based on real world driving experience, say there will be very significant reductions in emissions of all kinds.'

Mr Johnson has been trying a variety of low-emissions vehicles in the last few weeks, and while he was very complimentary of plug-in hybrids, he did question the availability of Toyota's new Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell car due to the price.

'I particularly want to encourage electric vehicles and plug in hybrids because they are the way forward.

'I drove a hydrogen vehicle, which was fantastic, but the trouble with a hydrogen vehicle is it cost £66,000 just for a saloon car. For the foreseeable future, that’s likely to be out of people’s reach.

'But plug in hybrids with range extenders are going to start coming down into the mass market and really make a difference to people’s choices.'

The future: Mr Johnson was a big fan of the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV when he test drove it in Tokyo